The Spaces Between
by ashleyapocalypse
Summary: It started out with a simple race, just a game. Now, one of their own is fatally injured and they're running out of time. Relationships will be tested, hearts will be broken, and nothing will ever be the same.
1. Chapter 1: The Accident

..That stupid faker's voice. Why does he have to wake me up?

"Yo! Shadow! You up for a race?"

"No. Go away."

"Aw, come on! You're no fun! Quit being such a grouch!"

Ugh..

Maybe if I indulge him he'll go away. Looks like he won't leave me alone otherwise.

"Fine."

I rouse myself from my slumber beneath a shade tree. No shortage of those, here in the Mystic Ruins. Oh, well. It's not like I've been sleeping well lately, anyway.

Sonic is already pacing, restless, ready once again to live up to his gaudy nickname, "the Blue Blur". He is impatient, prodding me to hurry up and get going. We stoop down into a runner's crouch, our right feet toeing an imaginary line, eager to cross. He, of course, is the first to speak.

"Ready... GO!"

We're off, bolting at breakneck speeds through the trees, twisting and turning, without any real goal in sight. I keep up easily, earning my homage, the "Black blur". It's rather insulting, being brought down to his level, but what can one do? The humans are fickle. They'll forget eventually, their attention being caught by newer, more exciting things.

"Hey, Shadow, I'm barely even breaking a sweat! You're killing me here!" he taunts, sticking his tongue out. How childish. I smirk, increasing my speed. We're coming close to the speed of sound; I can feel it in the way my ears pop, how the ambient noise of the jungle starts to warp.

_Woah. _I catch myself, imperceptibly, before I stumble. Better be careful. A slip up at these speeds could shatter bones. He continues trying to rile me.

"Nah nah nah nyah nah! Can't catch me! I'm the fastest thing alive!"

...he is really beginning to rub my quills the wrong way. Suddenly, inspiration strikes. I can see it in the way his eyes spark, his ears prick. He smiles, a lopsided grin that says 'I know something you don't know'. He yells, "Hey, Shadow, I'm going to tell Rouge that you're in _love_ with her!"

Oh, hell. I don't really care either way, but if Knuckles hears that, he'll kick my ass. _Dammit, _I think. _What would _she _think if she heard that? _Now, my thoughts are filled with a different girl, not the catty Rouge but.. someone else.

I know he's only said that to anger me, rile me up so I would attempt to catch him. But, he's done a sufficient job of distracting me, also. My mind wanders.

An explosion of pain rips through me, sparking behind my eyelids. I'm skidding across the forest floor? It takes a moment for my mind to catch up with events. I'm dazed, disoriented, very confused. Sonic is still running, for what seems an eternity but in fact is probably only mere moments. Once he realizes I'm no longer following, he stops on a dime, screeching to a stop, carried by his forward momentum. He dashes back to my side.

"_Woah." _I realize the extent of the damage by his reaction, even though he is trying to keep calm. He actually looks more than slightly ill; his face is turning the barest shade of green. He is also pale and ashen. It's an odd combination. I think all of this in a very detached manner, like none of this is affecting me in the slightest. I'm just a barely interested audience looking through the eyes of a stranger. I think, no, I _know_ I should be feeling some extreme pain, but really, all I feel is numb. Must be the adrenaline.

A determined look now shows on his face. He throws my limp body over his shoulders in what the humans call a fireman's carry. _Now_ I feel pain. God, it's a pain like I've never felt in my life. It is absolutely excruciating. The entire right side of my body is engulfed in flames; I'm mildly surprised Sonic doesn't feel the fire. _Well, of course, _I realize. _There is no blaze. It's only me. _I wonder, am I just becoming delusional from the agony?

Nothing feels real.

Sonic is rushing, racing, speeding out of the jungle, every footstep jostling me and sending another wave of fire down my spine. I don't bother telling him that, though. I'm too out of it to care.

"Damn you, faker..." I manage to mumble into his spines before I black out.

*****

"Uh.. Vanilla, we have a problem."

"Oh, hello Sonic!" the cheery rabbit calls. "I'm in the kitchen! Are you hungry?" He can hear pots banging and the stove simmering. There's a delicious aroma floating thick through the air. He is too stressed, too scared, to even notice.

The smile falls from her face as an exhausted and trembling Sonic stumbles in, bearing the weight of a slim, ebony form.

"..oh dear..."

*****

A few minutes later, they have Shadow reclined on the living room futon, Vanilla at his side, working her healing magic. Occasionally, she murmurs sympathetically, hisses softly under her breath. She doesn't even need to say it. It's very bad. After giving him a full look over, cleaning and dressing his wounds, and administering medicine, she sighs sadly.

She murmurs in a shaky voice, "I've done all I can. Now, it's up to him whether he wakes up."

Sonic stumbles over next to his crimson streaked counterpart and exhales softly. He shakes his head wearily.

He whispers, "Shadow, I've never known you to give up without a fight. You _can _beat this."

Vanilla turns to the azure hero, and softly speaks, "Sonic, at least let me-"

"No, Vanilla, I'm fine. Shadow here is the one that needs your attention."

"Okay, then. Let me do this, at least."

Vanilla gives the blue hedgehog a small dose of sleep syrup and sends him to bed. He barely makes it up the stairs, and collapses into his mattress. He won't admit it, but the ordeal has taken it's toll on him, too. He's fast asleep before the sheets even settle around him.


	2. Chapter 2: Reactions and Sorrow

The others trickle in throughout the day, all stricken when they learn of Shadow's fate, smiles and laughter wiped off of their faces. First is Silver, returning from.. Whatever he does all day. No one actually seems to know where he disappears to. He is of course concerned, not in the way of someone attached to the injured, but as a stranger, an acquaintance witnessing a horrible accident. He is not particularly close to Shadow, but he does have a heart, after all. He doesn't quite seem to know what to do with himself, how to act.

"Oh.. Wow. I hope he'll be okay," he mumbles awkwardly after a few moments of silence. He shuffles from the room.

Then comes Knuckles and Rouge, still bickering good-naturedly as they enter the house, holding hands.

"You're absolutely batty!"

"Oh, yeah, Knucklehead? Well you.." Rouge trails off when she sees the condition Shadow is in. She rushes to her dear friend's side.

"Shadow..?" Rouge gasps. She tries to be stoic, strong, capable Rouge, but Shadow is, after all, her best friend. She sniffles, her eyes tearing up. It's all she can do not to burst into tears.

"Holy.." Knuckles says, in shock. He puts his arm around her, pulling her close. Just then, E-123 Omega floats in.

"What is wrong?" He inquires, his vision blocked by the bat and echidna. Silently, the couple move aside, so Omega can see what has befallen their team member. Omega contemplates for a moment.

"I suppose immortality does not compensate for injury."

"Apparently not," Rouge said sadly.

The trio head upstairs to give Shadow and his caretaker, Vanilla, in peace. A while later, in troops Tails from his workshop, tired and dusted in oil and grime. He pulls off his goggles, setting them on the kitchen table, and calls to Vanilla, "Oh, that smells really good! I'm starving! Is Cream home?"

His cheer is gone in an instant as he trudges into the living room and sees Shadow lying comatose, Vanilla at his side. He dashes over and yells in a scared, high-pitched panicky voice. "Shadow!"

Sonic's face is colored darker by guilt with every retelling of the accident. Telling it just doesn't get any easier, no matter how many times he repeats the story.

"Poor Shadow.." Tails shakes his head sadly as he leaves the room, presumably to look for Cream. Then, in skips Amy.

"Sonic! Oh, Sonikku! Where are you?" She calls.

Amy prances in through the door, but she stops cold when she sees her hero and Vanilla crowded around the Ultimate Life Form.

"Shadow?" she cries, bolting to his side.

He watches as tears form in her eyes. Somehow, explaining to Amy proves to be the hardest thing Sonic has ever done. She's not even really paying attention. By this point she is weeping, brokenly and with abandon.

Sonic felt another wave of guilt wash over him. He bows his head and flattens his ears, as if his emotion were an actual physical weight bearing down on him. He looks crushed.

"I'm so sorry, Ames," he whispers. "It's all my fault."

"Of course not, Sonic. It was an accident," she says, almost by default. She would never speak ill or hurt someone, regardless of how she really felt. But then, she was so kind, her heart so pure, she never felt or thought badly of anyone. She was just.. Good.

She is on her knees, kneeling next to her ebony friend. Her mascara has streaked down her face, staining Shadow's white chest tuft as she cries into his fur.

"Oh, Shadow.." she whimpers.

Sonic gets up and silently leaves the room. There is simply nothing left to say.


	3. Chapter 3: Confrontation

Over the following weeks, Amy refuses to leave Shadow's side. She does practically everything for him, from giving him medicine to changing bandages to making sure his IV drips are set at the proper dosages at the right times. She just about makes Vanilla useless, actually. The poor rabbit is grateful for the help, though. She is already busy enough trying to keep the house tidy and take care of their large family of 18 (including the Chaotix, who live in their own smaller home on the property). They are a dysfunctional, ragtag bunch, who more often than not don't get along, but that's just what they are: a family.

Rouge tries her hardest to spend time with Shadow, she really does, but being around him too much would make her crack. She visits as often as she can, but she's barely maintaining her composure as it is. She doesn't have the freedom that Amy does, the ability to just break down. She fears that if she does, she'd shatter, and never be able to piece herself back together.

"Shadow, you _can't _die on me. You just can't." she whispers hoarsely. "What am I supposed to do without you?"

Everyone tries to go on with their daily lives, but just walking in the front door is a sobering reminder that one of their own is in crisis and there isn't anything they can do about it. All of them, with their special talents and unique abilities, are powerless as they watch their friend slip away. Tails, who can make any kind of contraption imaginable, can't make a machine to heal him. Knuckles can fight any battle without the barest hint of fear, but what can he do when there is no physical enemy, no beatable entity, to fight? Rouge, the world's greatest jewel thief, cannot steal enough diamonds and rubies to heal this malady. Espio, in spite of his ninja mastery, is unable to spirit a remedy away in the night. Big, the greatest fisherman around, can't dredge up a solution from the banks and shores. How can Silver, even with his psychokinetic powers, simply will his friend to health? Even Amy, with her purity and kindness, can do nothing for her friend with her strength and heart. They are all helpless.

Time rolls on. Days become weeks become months, with Shadow's condition neither detiorating nor improving. Everyone turns to their own devices to distract themselves, pretend that nothing is amiss. Amy loses herself in taking care of Shadow, praying that the next time she checks on him, he'll be sitting up, walking around, acting like his old self, like nothing had happened. She tries to be keep herself in check, not dissolve into a weepy mess, but it is _so_ hard. At night, once the others have fallen asleep, she sneaks back downstairs and sobs her heart out into his snowy fur. Then, she silently slips back up to the room she shares with Cream, crawls under the covers, and falls into nightmares. This cycle of hope, heartbreak, and horrible dreams does nothing more than frustrate her. She feels so guilty for being unable to do anything more than the mundane things. And of course, she won't admit it, but she feels a degree of anger, too, that this had to happen in the first place. All of these feelings, and the exhaustion, threaten to overwhelm her.

Then, the day comes. Amy breaks.

"Oh, Shadow. Will this be the day you wake up? Please, try."

Sonic appears, walking down the stairs, yawning, "Morning, Ames. How's faker doing? Same as usual?"

"_What_ Did you just call him?" Amy growls menacingly.

"Oh, uh n-nothing, Ames," he stammers. He doesn't even apologize.

Amy explodes.

"Who do you think you are?" she rushes for his throat. She blinks, and he's on the other side of the room. She does a 180 and stands facing him, seething with rage.

"Woah, Amy, I'm sorry!" he shouts. "What's with you?"

"What's with me? This is all _your _fault!" she screeches, advancing toward him, her piko-piko hammer appearing in hand. Sonic backs toward the door, fumbling to unlock it. Once it's open, he's off, dashing for safety in distance.

Amy isn't far behind. She runs as quickly as her legs can carry her, actually managing to keep up with the blue blur. She is fueled now not by a schoolgirl crush or annoyance, but by pure, unbridled rage.

"This is all _your_ fault!" she repeats, panting between syllables. "If you hadn't challenged him to that race-"

"I'm sorry!" he shouts.

"You _always _have to pick a fight! You can never leave anything alone, or accept defeat! You can't deal with not getting what you want!"

A pained look flashes on his face. Sonic slows down, waits for Amy to catch up. "I know, Amy. I'm sorry," he murmurs, barely audible. She is still running at him. She reaches him, and swings her hammer. He cringes.

Just shy of dealing the blow, she stops. She drops her hammer, and it dissolves out of sight. Her shoulders slump, her ears flatten. She is a flower, suddenly wilted. The fight has simply left her.

"Amy, do you really think I don't know? Everything that happened was my fault. I feel the most horrible guilt, every single day. Because of me, our friend is laying there in a coma, possibly dying, instead of being here, with us, where he belongs. I can't take that back. And I will _never_ forgive myself for it."

She falls to her knees, suddenly exhausted; they must have run for miles. Her raw anger has burnt out. Her shoulders are shaking, and she is weeping, once again. Asking permission with his eyes, Sonic gently picks her up and runs back towards home.


	4. Chapter 4: Time Passing and Confessions

Needless to say, things are _very _tense between Sonic and Amy now. They hardly speak unless absolutely necessary, and their exchanges are brief and stiff, polite to the point of being painful. Sonic has tried initiating conversation with Amy several times, but he's never been able to find the words. He's already apologized countless times; what more is there to say?

Shadow's birthday approaches. Or, for him, what passes as a birthday. Rouge found the exact date in his file on the space colony ARK. He always hated the others making a big deal of it, but Rouge, Amy, and Vanilla always insisted on decorating, making a cake, throwing a party. It was always a source of amusement to look back at pictures of everyone smiling, eating, laughing, with Shadow in the center of it all, scowling, arms crossed, a pointed hat forced lopsidedly on his quills. None of them could ever figure out what to get for him; he didn't wear clothes, nor did he shop anywhere in particular. He always had the latest gadgets, cell phone, giant TV, so that was ruled out. They usually settled on getting him weapons, ammunition, spy gadgetry, and the like. He was always polite in his thanks, though he never showed open appreciation for any of it. But then, he never seems to enjoy much of anything in the first place.

Everyone knows the date is fast approaching, but they all try to steer clear of the topic. Celebrating with him in this state would just be depressing. Still, they can't just let it pass without at least acknowledging the day the Ultimate Life Form was created. At last, Vanilla settles on making a small cake for everyone to enjoy on the special day. It's a very solemn day in its arrival; everyone seems to feel something in the atmosphere discouraging raised voices, smiles and joy. After the cake has been cut (no candles of course, with no one to blow them out) they all crowd into the living room to give him well wishes, one by one. They all speak the same shallow words more or less, happy birthday, get well soon, blah blah. First are Cream and Tails; being the youngest, their bedtime is earlier. Cream tries to keep up her cheerful demeanor, but anyone can see that it's a struggle. She and Tails trudge slowly up the stairs, Tails dragging his two golden tails dejectedly on the ground. Then there are Silver and Blaze, Knuckles, Omega, Big and Froggy, the Chaotix, then Vanilla says her blessing, tells Rouge, Sonic, and Amy goodnight, and heads upstairs. Sonic mumbles "Happy birthday, Shadow," then drags himself up the stairs as well. Now, only Rouge and Amy remain. They are each holding one of Shadow's hands, looking down on the ebony hedgehog from either side of the bed. Rouge glances at Amy then looks back to Shadow, and murmurs, "You love him, don't you?"

Amy snaps back to reality. "Whaaa?"

"You don't even know yourself, do you? I can see the way you look at him, how broken up you are over this. Just listen to what your heart is telling you. You are in love with Shadow the hedgehog." "But, Sonic.." Amy mumbles halfheartedly, still in denial.

"You and I both know that was over a long time ago. Now it's just even more obvious by the way you're both giving each other the cold shoulder. You've been leaning towards Shadow here for a while. It just took that little push for you to fall completely for him. Believe me, I know these things," says the ivory bat conspiratorially.

"B-But.." Amy stammers, looking helplessly at Rouge. She looks almost as if she expects the older girl to strike her. The pink hedgehog flattens her ears.

"Don't worry about it. He's my best friend. I only want him to be happy. Believe me, Knuckles is plenty jealous enough for both of us."

By this point, Amy is blushing like mad. "Is it really that obvious? I've been denying it for so long, even to myself.."

"I don't think anyone would be cruel enough to tell him, even if they figured it out. And he's so oblivious, I doubt he even knows."

"Oh, Shadow," Amy is fighting back tears. "I've been so stupid! I never told you how I feel, and now it might be too late," she sniffles.

"Hey! Don't give up hope yet, kiddo. You know, they say coma victims can sometimes hear what people are saying to them," Rouge winks, getting up. "So just keep talking. You might be just the incentive he needs to wake up that much sooner," she calls over her shoulder, walking up the stairs.

That is precisely what Amy does. After settling him in for the night, checking his bandages, making sure his IV drips are set up properly, she slides her boots off and sits cross legged next to Shadow, holding his hand. She stays up, pouring her heart out, spilling secrets across the sheets. It may just be wishful thinking, but her heart jumps and she could swear she feels his hand twitch in hers, tightening his grip just the tiniest bit.

When the old grandfather clock strikes midnight, she sneaks up the stairs, changes into a tee shirt and pajama pants, and grabs a pillow, tiptoeing back down at the very edges of the steps next to the wall, so they don't creak. Now that she's more comfortable, she keeps talking to Shadow in the tiniest hopes that she'll feel his hand twitch, see his eyelids flutter, his nose wiggle, anything to show that he was still with her. Now that she thinks about it, she never noticed how cute his little black button nose is. She giggles quietly.

There is a strange freedom in finally admitting, even just to herself, her feelings for the ebony and crimson hedgehog. She ponders over this; it's very.. Odd, imagining herself not chasing Sonic, not obsessing over him. She realizes though, that what Rouge said was right: she had stopped running after him a long time ago. After their confrontation, she could barely bring herself to look him in the face, let alone keep up the friendly give and take they'd had since they first met years ago. But losing her clouded vision of him didn't seem so bad now that she had.. Other options. She is brought back to the present by this thought.

"Shadow.. I really, really hope you can hear me," she murmurs. "Or.. Maybe not," she twitters self consciously. Because the truth is, she's revealed more of herself to him than anyone, even her best friend, Cream. She sings softly,

_If you follow me,_

_You'll only get lost_

_We try to get closer_

_and we only lose touch_

_But you already know too much_

_No, you're not going anywhere._

She can hear his voice in her head, lilting and following her melody. "Don't go," she half sings, half whimpers, fighting back tears once again. Only now, she realizes she can just let go. After all, there's no one there to hear her. The thought only makes her cry harder; she doesn't know if Shadow even knows she's there. She feels as if she's talking to thin air.

She may have already lost him forever.


	5. Chapter 5: Everything hits the fan

A lean figure stumbles down the stairs, yawning. He walks straight through to the kitchen, oblivious and unable to see the blur of the living room through hazy, sleepy tears. He yawns again, this time hard enough to crack his jaw. _Now _he is awake. He backtracks a few steps, not believing what he sees when it finally catches up to his mind. The sight slightly surprises him, but he just lets out a bemused chuckle, twitches his ear, and pads back into the kitchen in search of breakfast. A snowy bat soon follows, and she just smirks as she walks into the kitchen. "Did you see..?" Sonic gestures.

"Yup," Rouge practically purrs. "It's so cute." Sonic just shakes his head and scoffs.

"Has anyone seen Amy?" Cream mumbles, rubbing one eye as she shuffles sleepily in. "She never came to bed last night."

"Oh, we've seen her, all right," Sonic mutters as he gestures vaguely to the living room.

Cream blushes as she looks in the direction the blue hedgehog indicated. Amy is lying on the floor, curled up with her back to them. She is as close to the futon as its metal legs will allow her, shivering, her thin blanket not providing much warmth. Her arm is stretched over her abdomen, grasping the ebony hedgehog's hand in her own. They can all see the rise and fall of her red shirt, her shaking breath.

In a small display of kindness, Sonic steps upstairs to the linen closet and grabs a thicker blanket, smoothing it over her shivering form. Still, her grip remains tight. Even in sleep, she is reluctant to let go. She curls into herself and towards Shadow even tighter. The hedgehog, bat, and rabbit can hear her murmur unintelligibly in her sleep.

They all speak quietly to avoid waking her. "Poor thing must have been up all night," sympathizes Rouge.

"Well maybe now that she's warm she'll get some sleep," mumbles Sonic.

"I just don't want her to get her heart broken again." Cream looks down at the floor, avoiding the cobalt hedgehog's gaze.

"All he's going to do is hurt her," Sonic grumbles. "Guys like him only want one thing anyway," he adds under his breath.

"I heard that," the ivory bat mutters. He had forgotten that one of them has supersonic hearing. "I saw this coming after what happened last night anyway," Rouge says.

"_What_ did you do?" Sonic demands angrily. Their relationship may be.. strained, but he still thought fondly of and cared deeply for the younger girl.

"Nothing. All I did was talk to her."

_Sigh. _"What did you _say?_"

"_That_ is none of your business, _hero,_" she sneers. "Since when do you even care?" The way she sees it, he doesn't even have the _right_ to care.

Sonic is flabbergasted, at a loss for words. How dare she? "All she's ever done is show you kindness and consideration, going out of her way every time just to make you happy! And how do you respond? By running away!"

"You don't understand anything, you stupid bat! You don't even know me!" They are shouting now.

"Oh, I _understand!_" Rouge yells in his face. "I understand that oh, you don't want her, but nobody else can have her? That's _not_ how it works, you big jerk!"

Sonic stomps off, slamming the door behind him. Rouge stands there, spluttering, then runs after him, shouting "Get back here! Don't you just walk away from me!"

Knuckles suddenly appears, fury personified, and follows, cracking his hands and muttering "I'm gonna kick his ass." The frame audibly splinters and a few of the windowpanes crack as he slams the door.

If the household wasn't awake before, everyone certainly is now.

"Oh, lovely," Blaze mutters when she sees the damage.

"Wha 'append..?" Silver mumbles, still half asleep. Vanilla walks in soon after and just sighs sadly. Tails has flown out the window and after Sonic, Rouge and Knuckles, attempting to play diplomat and make peace between the three. _Two against one isn't exactly fair,_ he thinks to himself.

Omega activates and stands sentient in a corner, remaining neutral and detached from the feuding family members. Big crashes in, chasing Froggy, who takes the opportunity to leap through one of the missing windowpanes and escape the grasp of the purple cat. Big runs after him, yelling in his always sleepy sounding voice, "Froggy, come _back..!_"

Cream is hiding behind Vanilla, trembling. "Mother, what's happening?" her voice cracks.

Vanilla doesn't have an answer for her daughter, so she just snuggles her closer instead. They are the only two left in the kitchen. Now that Cream is somewhat calm, Vanilla peers into the living room at Amy. She quickly averts her gaze and casts about desperately for some reason to leave the room. "I'm going to.. Go get the broom and dustpan!" she scurries away, presumably to find the tools to clean up the splinters of wood and broken glass.

Cream watches her mother go, puzzled, then realizes that she was gracefully giving her a chance to talk to Amy in private. Cream takes the hint and approaches her friend, kneeling down in the plush carpet next to her. Amy is still facing away from everything, but she has released Shadow's hand and curled into a fetal position, shoulders shaking as she tries unsuccessfully to quiet her sobs.

"Amy.." Cream tries to hug her friend, but it's an awkward embrace with the way their bodies are contorted.

"I-I'm so sorry," she cries. "It's all my fault. I've ruined _everything._"

"There's nothing to apologize for. Nobody's mad at you. It's just.. Things are changing, is all."

"But _I'm_ the reason things are changing!" Amy's having a very difficult time explaining how she feels. "If I hadn't.. stopped chasing Sonic, if I hadn't 'rocked the boat' everything would still be okay."

"But sometimes change is a _good_ thing. Everything can't stay the same forever. If it wasn't this it would've been something else." Amy remains silent, thinking about what Cream is saying. "I'm sure Mr. Sonic is only worried about what's best for you. Ms. Rouge was only trying to stick up for you the best she knows how. That's all anybody wants, for you to be happy."

"Yes, but.. How can I be happy when..?" Amy gestures up at the ebony hedgehog.

"Amy, he gave his _life_ once for you, and everyone else, to have a chance to be happy. I'm sure that's all Mr. Shadow wants for you." Amy thinks back to that fateful day on the ARK. She remembered like it was yesterday the tiny diamond tear that fell down his face, how he finally, resolutely told her "I have to go now. I have to keep my promise to Maria, _and you."_ She was confused at the time, but now she looks back on the memory fondly, attempting to read something more out of it, more about how _he _felt about her.

"..You're right Cream," she says, getting up. "You're right!" she repeats, as if affirming it to herself. "Look at how silly I'm being. I'm sure he would think I'm being ridiculous!" she laughs softly at herself. "Well, he's not dead yet! Why am I acting like it?" Amy thanks her friend, then goes upstairs, heart lighter, to brush her teeth, change, and get ready for the day ahead.

Even though it's already midmorning, Amy is still very tired, but tries to perk herself up by singing as she gets ready.

_You and I_

_Left our troubles far behind_

_And I still have just one more_

_Question on my mind_

_For all my friends who live in_

_The oceans and the sea_

_With friends like these, _

_Who needs enemies?_

She hums the chorus to the happy upbeat song as she looks through her closet and picks out a pair of black skinnies, a red halter top, and red converse. She had tried to stick to her signature red dress and boots but as she had gotten older and filled out they didn't fit anymore.

But now that she thinks about it, the color combination she picked out today reminds her of.. Something _else_ that's red and black. Or rather, some_one_. Funny, did she do that on purpose? It seems like everything reminds her of the Ultimate Life Form lately.

_Oh, well,_ she thinks as she practically floats downstairs, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to see to Shadow and start the day.


	6. Fallout

After Amy had gotten up and brushed herself off, she spends the morning straightening up their home, cooking, just small things to help out the shell-shocked Vanilla wherever she can. Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge and Tails trail in about an hour later, the former three limping, Rouge supporting Knuckles under her shoulder. As it turns out, Tails had attempted to calm the three down but things escalated out of control, and despite Rouge's insistence that she didn't need Knuckles to defend her, resulted in a brawl betwixt the two friends. Tails begged them to stop fighting, to no avail, and tried to physically separate the echidna and hedgehog. But the fox's small frame went unnoticed, and so he was caught up in the fight, just trying to defend himself.

The four now stand before Amy, battered and bruised. Rouge faired the best out of them all, because of course Knuckles could never bring himself to hurt her and Sonic was far too chivalrous to strike the female. She didn't escape unscathed however; she sports several scrapes across her back and a twisted ankle from being knocked backwards by Knuckles to safety. Sonic has many deep gouges scored down his arms, legs, and torso, accentuated by dark purple bruises visible on his bare skin, presumably from the spikes and brass knuckles hidden in the guardian's gloves. Knuckles has a deep shadow covering his right eye, a sprained wrist, and several cuts and scrapes down his arms and torso. Poor Tails is a mess. He has two black eyes, a dislocated shoulder, and gouges and bruises cover his arms, legs, and torso. Most alarming, he is bleeding profusely from his head. Naturally, he's the one Amy turns her attention to first.

"Oh, Tails. What exactly happened?" The quartet fills her in while she is administering to the kit's wounds. When they finish, all Amy can do is click her tongue disapprovingly as she bandages Tail's head. Now comes the hard part.

"Okay, Tails, I've got to get your shoulder back into place. This is going to hurt. Quite a lot." Inspiration suddenly strikes Rouge.

"Amy, hold on a sec!" she calls, already on her way down the hall. Amy obliges, tapping her toe impatiently on the linoleum. Rouge returns a few minutes later, Cream in tow.

"Tails?" Cream says when she catches sight of the fox. When she sees for herself the condition he's in, she glares at Knuckles and Sonic. "How could you?" Their sheepish, ashamed expressions say it all.

Cream runs over to take a seat next to Tails. She shyly grabs his hand, and the yellow kit looks at her happily, but with a question in his eyes. She leans over and murmurs inaudibly into his ear. His eyes light with understanding, and he asks her "Are you sure?" She gulps and nods.

"I don't want to hurt you," he says.

"Don't worry. You won't," she replies trustingly.

"Tails, are you ready?" Amy asks.

He gulps and nods, steeling himself. Amy gently takes hold of his right arm. He tightens his grip on Cream's hand with the other.

Amy begins to push onto his shoulder, putting all of her weight into it. Tails is gritting his teeth and clenching Cream's hand, obviously in excruciating pain. Their eyes are tightly shut. It's almost as if Cream can feel Tails' pain.

They hear a loud click and it's over. The rabbit and fox open their eyes, brown and blue, filled with tears. Tails gently catches Cream's gaze and starts to massage her hand. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"Of course, but I should be asking you that," she giggles.

"Oh, I'm fine. You're here," he says, hopping off the counter and leading Cream from the room, still hand in hand. Amy watches them leave the room, eyes glazed over. She's brought back to attention by Knuckles clearing his throat. Sonic is already propped up on the counter. Amy sighs inwardly and sets to work on him.

Finally, two hours later, Amy has finished cleaning up her friends and put the medical supplies away. She had to fight the impulse to clock Sonic over the head with her piko-piko hammer when, as she was tending to Knuckles and trying to figure out what to do about his black eye, Sonic snickered "Haha, that's a real shiner," like he was _proud_ of how badly he'd injured his friend.

After tracking down Tails to find that Cream had already sent him to bed, Amy returns to the living room and collapses into a chair. No sooner does she relax than Big comes stomping back in, covered in grime, crying "I found Froggy!"

"That's great, Big," Amy tells him halfheartedly as he clomps up the stairs trailing mud and muck through the house. She is too exhausted to care.

"…Silver, you're so naïve," Blaze laughs as the pair enters their home. The psychokinetic scoffs, exasperated at the cat and her teasing. She's made fun of him for his naïveté for as long as the two have known each other.

"Amy, what happened?" Silver asks when he sees the huge mess trailing from the door, through the house, and up the stairs.

"Big…"

Blaze nods, understanding. She notices how drained Amy looks and drags Silver off to get the cleaning supplies. Amy spots a mop, vacuum, broom, and bucket full of scrub brushes and cleaning supplies float down the hall, glowing with a bluish-green aura. She can't help but laugh at the painful expression on Silver's face as he follows, trying to control the objects' path through the air.

"Are you sure it's safe to lift so many things at once?"

"Come on, are you kidding me? I can lift boulders and cars!" Silver strains.

"Yeah, but the more stuff you carry, the harder it is to control," Blaze chides.

"I'm… fine…"

"Okay, but if you spill anything on me, you're charcoal." Blaze threatens him, flames dancing in her eyes. Amy can't help but laugh. Silver just glares daggers at her.

Blaze sets to work scrubbing the carpet while Silver sweeps the dried mud from the kitchen linoleum. When he is finished and the floor is gleaming, he joins Blaze, still trying to work the ground-in dirt from the carpet. Using his psychokinesis, he levitates a brush and it scrubs right alongside Blaze's, casting a glow all around. Blaze scoffs, "Silver, a little manual labor never hurt anybody."

"How about mental labor? I'm getting a migraine from all this."

"Oh you poor baby," she comments sarcastically to the hedgehog.

"…thank you, guys…" Amy manages to murmur before folding into the embrace of sleep.


	7. The coming storm

When Amy woke it was very dark and the rest of the house was quiet. She had a terrible crick in her neck from sleeping with it at an angle and heard a soft pop when she moved her head back into place. She was still tired but not in the way of sleeplessness. This was an exhaustion that ran bone deep, an exhaustion borne of holding too much sadness and anger for far too long.

The next thing the girl noticed was that her stomach was growling. _'_Makes sense,' she thought. 'I've been asleep for quite some time.' After creeping to the kitchen so as not to wake her family, she found something to eat and moved back to her sentry post next to Shadow.

"Things have gotten really crazy around here" she sighed. She began to regale the chaos of the previous day, starting with the reactions she sensed as the others came downstairs and saw her uncomfortable sleeping position. "I've seen Sonic and Knuckles fight before but I never thought I'd see the day when they seriously hurt each other."

At this she swore she saw his right ear twitch in her direction and a ghost of that characteristic smirk on his face. She was absolutely elated even though everything in her screamed skepticism, that she was seeing things or that it was involuntary muscle movement. Her mind began to race.

'What if he wakes up soon? I hope he all knows we want him back so, so badly. What if he can hear me?' Her blood ran cold at this last thought. Everything that she had whispered to him in the dead of night suddenly filled her mind. What if he did understand it all and thought her innermost thoughts were simply pathetic? It would wound her deeply, having her desire for intimacy rejected. And quite honestly, things would become very, very awkward.

Either way, things were about to change.


End file.
